Serial Founder Raises $2.5M to Find Leads in Your Inbox - The SaaS CFO Recap

Podcast: The SaaS CFO

Published: 2026-02-03

Duration: 22 min

Summary

Vadim Rogozki, CEO of EVE, discusses his journey as a serial entrepreneur and the launch of his latest venture, which aims to help businesses capture leads directly from their inboxes. Through insights gained from his previous startups, Vadim highlights the need for a simpler lead management solution for small businesses and founders.

What Happened

In this episode, Vadim Rogozki shares his extensive experience as a serial entrepreneur, having started his journey in college 15 years ago. He recounts the different outcomes of his previous ventures, including selling one company and closing another. Vadim emphasizes the lessons learned along the way, especially regarding the common challenges faced by small business owners in managing leads, often relying on outdated tools like spreadsheets and email instead of CRMs.

Vadim introduces his latest venture, EVE, which originated from his observations while acquiring an event software and lead capture company. He discovered that many small business owners struggle to manage their leads effectively, often overlooking valuable opportunities hidden in their inboxes. This realization sparked the creation of EVE, which aims to transform messy email data into a self-updating sales funnel. As EVE has recently launched from stealth mode, Vadim discusses their target customer profiles, which include founders and small service-based businesses that find traditional CRMs inadequate for their needs.

With a successful capital raise of $2.5 million, Vadim highlights the importance of securing funding to accelerate growth in a fast-paced market. He shares that EVE has started generating revenue and is focused on refining its product and go-to-market strategy based on customer feedback gathered from initial pilots. As they continue to navigate the startup landscape, Vadim remains enthusiastic about the potential of EVE to streamline lead management for various businesses looking for more efficient solutions.

Key Insights

Key Questions Answered

What led Vadim Rogozki to start EVE?

Vadim's journey began with his observations as he was working on acquiring an event software and lead capture company. He found that many small business owners struggled with lead management, often relying on outdated tools like spreadsheets or even their email as a CRM. This insight became the foundation for EVE, as he realized the potential to help these businesses better manage their leads and capitalize on missed opportunities.

How does EVE differentiate itself from traditional CRMs?

Vadim highlights that EVE is designed for small business owners and founders who often find traditional CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce inadequate. Many of these users do not update their CRMs, rendering them ineffective. EVE aims to fill this gap by turning messy email data into a self-updating sales funnel, providing a more intuitive solution for users who are overwhelmed by existing CRM systems.

What is EVE's target market?

EVE is currently focusing on founders doing sales, where traditional CRMs often fall short. Beyond startup founders, Vadim notes strong interest from various service-based industries, including legal firms, real estate, and consulting businesses. The goal is to refine their ideal customer profiles as they gather insights from their early users.

What funding milestone did EVE achieve, and why was it important?

EVE successfully raised $2.5 million, surpassing their initial goal of $1.5 million. Vadim emphasizes that raising capital is crucial in a fast-moving environment like the one they operate in, as it allows them to scale more quickly and leverage investor expertise in AI and small business needs.

What are the next steps for EVE after launching from stealth mode?

Following their launch, EVE has started generating revenue and is focused on refining their product based on customer feedback. Vadim mentions their plan to conduct numerous demos to gather data that will inform their product roadmap and go-to-market strategy, ensuring they provide maximum value to their users.